Romeo
by loopyloo2610
Summary: Grace Kapoor has finally made it to Patch Village, and she is pumped for the next round! Until she finds out it's a team match. And that she only has four days to find one. But with the help of her spirit, Eva, and a certain Romeo she meets, that should be plenty of time! Right? RyuXOC For SKBigBang 2014
1. Chapter 1

It was the first thing I saw when I awoke, and it was beautiful. The brilliant light shone into my eyes, and although it stung, I couldn't bring myself to look away. It made me feel wonderful, yet distraught. I felt like I could run a marathon, but I was unable to move a muscle. I could feel my heart swelling in my chest, and I was so sure it was going to burst.

"I think you have had enough of that for now." A shadow fell onto my face as a figure stood between me and the source of the light. I knew that voice, but my mind was so hazy.

"Congratulations, Miss Kapoor," it continued, "you have passed the first real test of the Shaman Fight!"

With that my mind snapped back into focus. "Bron! What are you doing here?" I exclaimed.

"I live here." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm in your house?"

"Not quite, I live down the road. But, you made it here: To Patch Village!"

"I was gonna say! Nothing against you – of course – but I've only met you a few times. Waking up in your house would be a little strange." Whilst talking to Bron, I couldn't help but shift over hoping to catch sight of that beautiful light again. "So how did I get here?"

"Well, you came via the ruins entrance, and upon seeing the light, you fainted. We then bought you to one of the many room reserved for contestants. _Stop trying to look around me!_" Bron held up his cape, blocking the whole window from my sight.

"Oh, come on, Bron! Just one more peak, it's so—that is to say it is just—"

"No words can describe the Great Spirit, everyone tries, and they all fail."

"So, that's—"

"Yes. The Great Spirit has no form, made solely from – well – souls!" He chuckled at his own pun.

I ignored his attempt at humour and stared straight at his cape, hoping that, if I focused hard enough, I'd be able to see through it and at the Great Spirit. "So, that's my goal." I breathed. A spark lit behind my onyx eyes. "What do I have to do next?"

Bron looked at me in shock. "Are you serious? You've only just woken up!"

"I know, but I won't be able to win by staying in bed. It's time to start preparing. Eva!" I stood up, only to immediately sit back down due to head rush.

Eva is a 12th century spirit from Suffolk. She wore a powder blue dress with narrow sleeves. At the end of the sleeves were over exaggerated cuffs, in a darker blue, which almost reached the ground. The dress was laced up at the back with a brown leather cord. Around her head, and tucked into the neckline of her dress, Eva wore a white wimple. No matter how many times Eva tried to push it back, a lock of her golden hair would fall from under the wimple and get in her blue eyes.

Eva was by my side before I had fully fallen back down, her eyes full of worry. "What have I told you about over exerting yourself? You must rest!"

"I've been asleep for ages though! Don't worry about it; I just stood up too fast." I insisted. Eva took a step back and straightened the skirt to her dress, like she does every time she resists herself from arguing back to me.

I stood up successfully this time, and walked over to my bag and pulled out a plain white shalwar kameez. The shalwar were loose around my legs, but the fabric was held together with a plain bit of fabric around my ankles, giving me plenty of room to move around without getting in the way. The kameez was a straight cut tunic with a mandarin collar. It had a comfy fit, though it wasn't too tight, and the sleeveless design helped avoid any restriction to my movement. I had managed to pick it up on the flight from the UK to Japan for the preliminary fights. "We should get some food, Eva, and then go for a good run."

"Do I have to come?" Eva whined, she's never been fond of going out in public.

"Yes, I don't know my way around, and I can't get lost on my first day in the famous Patch Village!"

Eva sighed and conceded, while Bron was still hovering to the side. "Are you sure you're okay to go out?" he asked.

"I'm sure I'm sure! Now I need to get dressed. Thanks for all the help, Bron!" I showed him out and shut the door behind him.

It took me a while to find a place to eat, and once I had food, there was nowhere to sit. I finally found a seat on a bench already occupied with three other shamans, where I could partake in my favourite pastime; people watching. Naturally my eyes went to those closest to me - the three shamans on my bench. There were two guys and a girl. One of the guys was huge with dark hair; while the other wasn't as tall, but not short by any stretch of the imagination, with blonde hair; finally there was the female, who had blonde hair, and didn't seem to be as active in the conversation. All three were definitely European, but apart from that I had no idea as to where they were from, their voices too low to catch a language or accent.

A group of three men – either from southern USA or in love with it, seeing as they were all wearing denim jeans with cowboy boots and hats - walked past. The two smaller shamans were laughing hard, whereas the third was walking with his arms crossed tightly across his chest, clearly put out by his friend's amusement.

Three short old ladies then made their way past me to the counter, before ordering more food than I thought could physically fit in them. When they turned around, I saw how wrinkled their faces were, and couldn't help but think back to the stories of old witches from my childhood. I smiled to myself as I imagined them jumping on broomsticks and flying off into the moon.

There seemed to be a pattern emerging. "Hey, Eva." I said, catching her attention.

"Yes, Grace?"

"Have you noticed how everyone is in a group of three?"

"I was just thinking about that myself." Eva said looking all around us. "I don't think there is anyone who isn't in a group of three."

It's then that it occurred to me that I could be the odd one out. I pulled Eva down so her head was right next to mine, as I said in a hushed voice. "Do you think it's a shaman thing? Apart from the fights, the only shaman I've ever met is my mother."

She rolled her eyes, and sat back up. "If that was the case, wouldn't they have all been in groups of three at the opening ceremony, or when we took the jumbo to America."

I thought back to the earlier months in which those events had taken place. It is true that there didn't seem to be a pattern to how people were grouping up. I definitely wasn't the only person on my own then. "I wonder what it could be." I pondered.

I felt a tap at my shoulder. It was the big guy from the end of the bench. "Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing, but, don't you know?"

I exchanged looks with Eva. "Know what?" I asked.

"That the next part is a team battle."

I felt like I had been punched. With a meek voice I said. "But I'm not in a team."

"Well, then, you won't be able to take part in the next round."

Coldness spread from my stomach through the rest of my body. He was just so matter of fact about it.

"Wha- what do I do?" My voice was beginning to crack, and I blinked away the tears which were forming at the corners of my eyes.

The blonde male pushed him to the side and gave him a dirty look before turning back to me. "Find a team. That's what."

"You have four days to register your team. You need three members in total." The first guy said again.

I thanked them and rushed away. From behind me I heard them talking to each other.

"Why did you have to go tell her? We had to find out for ourselves!"

"I felt bad. Besides, what are the chances of her finding a team in four days? Everyone has already grouped up."

Pfft, what do they know? Four days is plenty enough time! There's bound to be others who have either just shown up or weren't aware that we needed to be in teams. Heck, there may even be a team which has had an argument and have now split up.

I started my search at the notice board by the fountain in the centre of town, it's where I'd put a sign up if I needed a team. There was a poster by someone offering their skills in fixing clothing ($20 to sew on a button! I could buy a new shirt for that), one about a variety show the Patch Tribe will put on to entertain the contestants tomorrow night (apparently Namari's voice isn't to be missed), a lost cat (this seems to be a global standard), and in the top corner was a number to call if you wished to donate money to the Patch Village. Though there was nothing about any shamans looking for a team.

"Well, I suppose we could just ask around." I sighed to Eva, trying to look as hopeful as possible.

"Er..."

"Don't worry Eva, we shouldn't take too long!"


	2. Chapter 2

"This is ridiculous! Everyone I ask has already formed a team!" I cried, banging my head repeatedly against the wall.

We had spent the whole of the previous day searching, only stopping once the streets had completely emptied before starting up again first thing this morning. It was now mid-afternoon, and I was beginning to lose hope.

"Don't give in, Grace," Eva said, floating by my shoulder, "I'm sure we'll find others who are also in need of team mates! Now, stop whacking your head, you don't want to lose those precious few brain cells you have left."

"Oh, ha, _ha_." I said dryly, though I did pull away from the wall, only to start pacing instead. "We only have three days left! I refuse to be kicked out of the fight just because I have no friends! You would have thou-"

"Hey, you okay?" A male voice interrupted me mid-rant.

"Ugh," I am going to kill whoever it is, "do you wan'na fuc-" I don't know what I expected to see when I turned, but it definitely wasn't that.

My threat died in my throat as eyes went straight to his chest. I couldn't help it, he was muscular, had decent chest hair and his shirt buttoned down low – a combination of any two of those would have had me distracted, all three and I was a lost cause. I managed to drag my eyes up to his face, and it went straight to his hair – styled into an oversized pompadour, it looked ridiculous, but oddly enough, I think it actually suited him. He had a chiselled jaw, with a black pointed goatee; his strong mouth was slightly ajar. His warm eyes were gazing straight at me, and when our eyes met his widened a little. He suddenly gave his head a little shake and shot over to my side. He took my hand in both his own, before proclaiming, "Sweet angel, if there is anything I can do to ease your suffering, please, let me know."

I was so caught up in the moment that I had no idea what to do. I just stood there and stared. Once my mind had processed what was happening, I laughed. I laughed until tears came streaming from my eyes and my sides began to hurt. "Alright, Romeo, you got me chuckling, so I won't slap you, but please release my hand before I change my mind."

He let my hand slip from his, before placing one over his heart, and in the other hand he held a daisy. "I apologise, I couldn't help myself in front of a face like yours." It was sweet, if not a little creepy.

Well, I guess this guy is as good as any. "It's just that I can't find any teammates, you wouldn't happen to be looking for a team, would you?" I asked.

His shoulders sagged slightly. "Sorry, my loyalty lies with Master Yoh." He perked up suddenly "But, I shall gladly help you in your search!"

"You will?" I brightened up; having an extra person ask round can only improve my chances.

"Of course, fair lady."

He went to put his hand on the small of my back and I just slapped it away. "Watch it Romeo, or I'll off you and join your Master Yoh's team."

We had been asking people for hours, it seemed like everyone had already teamed up. Once again I was sure I was going to leave the tournament without a fight. I had to remember to calm myself regularly; I didn't want to approach people with a crazed look in my eye - though anyone would go crazy after being rejected so many times in a row. I looked over to where Romeo was trying to recruit. He had managed to keep a friendly smile on his face despite being rejected and ignored over and over again. I went to ask me people when my ears pricked up: "What's it to you if I don't have a team?" The voice had a French lilt to it.

I looked up to Romeo and he was talking with a young teenager, he couldn't be much older than 14, with brown hair. He was wearing a leather jacket and denim jeans. I ran over to them. "Have you found someone?" I asked

"Yes." Romeo said.

His grin was huge as he pulled the teenager in front of him to show off to me. The kid's face was the opposite, with a look which could turn the freshest milk sour.

"No, you haven't."

"I don't think he has a team." Romeo continued, without taking notice to what the kid was saying.

"I'm not looking for one."

He was sounded really annoyed as he turned to stare Romeo down as best he could seeing as he only came half way up his chest. Romeo stared back down at him, matching his irritated look.

"Don't be so disrespectful to the lady who is offering you a chance to advance in the fight."

"Don't butt your nose into other people's business."

"You wanna fight, punk?"

"Boys! No need to get violent." I said pushing between to arguing pair. I had better smooth this over as quickly as possible. I turned to the French boy and said, "Good evening, my name is Grace Kapoor. I'm currently searching for a team for the next stage of the fight, and I'd be honoured to fight alongside you."

"What's in it for me?" He said, crossing his arms in a defensive posture.

I tried to keep a polite smile on my face; did he have to be so rude? "Well, we need to be in teams for the next part of the tournament, otherwise we'll be disqualified." I said simply.

"So?"

"So...?" I encouraged. When he didn't continue I exchanged looks with Romeo. What is with this kid? Why isn't he jumping at the chance to stay in the tournament? "Do you want to go home?" I continued.

"Yes."

I looked straight at him. He looked bored; there was no hint of sarcasm on his face. He was actually being serious. He wanted to go home.

"Listen, you little punk-" Romeo started, taking a step forward.

He looked ready to clobber him. I stopped him, by walking in front of him and putting my hands on the kid's shoulders, staring at him at eye level. My smile was gone. "Name your price."

"What!?" I couldn't tell who was more shocked. Romeo, who looked close enough to fainting, or the kid, whose dumbfounded face was turning into a smirk.

"My price?" he asked, I simply nodded. "How about-"

But he didn't get to finish his sentence before Romeo interrupted him. "No! I refuse to let this happen! You can't ask such things from a fair lady!"

My eyebrows shot into my hairline, I didn't expect him to be so protective. "Hey, Romeo, cool it. See what he asks for, and then get angry."

He didn't say anything so the kid continued, "My price is that I don't have to fight."

Once again: no sarcasm. Why was he here if he didn't want to fight? Well at least I now have a sliver of hope. "Okay, then!"

"I'm Pierre Beaumont, and I shall join your team."

He held out his hand, and I shook it with both hands. "Thank you so much! I can't believe I have my first team mate!"

Pierre yanked his hand out from mine, "First team mate? What about him?" He pointed at Romeo.

"Oh, he was just helping me. He's already in a team."

Pierre rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "So you mean we're still one short?"

"We still have three more days." I said optimistically.

"Whatever, I'm not helping you look. The sooner I go home, the better."

He then started to walk away. "Wait a minute, Pierre! How do I find you once I've found our third member?" I shouted after him.

"Ask Thalim, he knows where my room is."

And with that he disappeared around a corner.

"I don't like him." Romeo sulked.

"Really? You hid it well." I replied sarcastically "Besides, liking him isn't an issue, I'm just glad I have my first team mate. Thank you for helping me; I have no idea what I'd do without you."

"It's nothing really." He said, rubbing the back of his head, and I swear I saw a light blush on his cheeks.

"I have one question though," I said, and he looked up at me, "why did you object so much to me asking him his price?"

His face turned a deep red and I couldn't help but snort with laughter. He then looked away, pretending to be preoccupied with the flowers nearby. I full out belly laughed at this.

"Hey, don't laugh! This is a serious matter. You have no idea what he could have asked for!"

I sobered up a bit. "I know, and if he had asked for something explicit I would have said the price is too high before carrying on looking for someone else. Besides, he's just a kid! People that young aren't having sex... are they?" I know it was possible, but I didn't think they would, but Romeo's face reddened even more. "Thank you, though, for trying to defend my honour. It's nice to know people care. Well, I better head off. I better start early if I want to get that final team mate." I gave him a wave before walking away.

"Hey, Grace," I turned back, "I'm happy to – that is, if you want me to – help you tomorrow."

I didn't think my smile could grow any wider. "Are you sure, I can manage on my own, so don't feel you need to, but that would be great. Tomorrow morning sound good?"

"I have training in the morning, but how about the afternoon?"

"Sure, that means I can spend the morning making posters. I'll see you tomorrow morning then."

"See you!"

That night I slept with the biggest grin in my life.


	3. Chapter 3

It had just gone midday by the time I had finished putting the final touches on the last poster. I had made three, with the hope of attracting as many people as possible; a bold and bright one, using red, blue, and green; a purple and blue, glittery one; and a black, white and red minimalist one. Each had the same written across it:

Looking for a team?  
>Find Grace Kapoor outside the Patch Café<br>and join the newest team in the fight!

Happy with my work, I rolled them up ready to go. I quickly threw on a pair of denim shorts, with a purple hoodie, and yellow flip-flops and making my way out of the apartment I had been assigned. First things first, I need to let my good-luck charm from yesterday know where I will be. If it wasn't for him, I would have never found Pierre.

As soon as I walked out the door, I realised the fatal flaw in my plan: I had no idea where he lives. Well, I could always ask around... if I had remembered to get his name. Damn you, Romeo, you don't make this easy for me. "Eva!" I called out.

She appeared next to me. "Yes?"

"Would you be able to find that guy from yesterday, for me – the one with the huge pompadour?"

"Certainly." She said, before soaring above the buildings and out of sight.

Whilst she was gone, I put up the first poster on the nearby building. How dumb can I be? Not even thinking of finding where he'd be, or even his name! I was just so excited last night about actually having a team mate. When I find him my first goal will be to find out his name.

"Grace, I found him."

"Excellent, lead the way!"

When I saw him, he was working out with a guy in headphones and a really short kid. While a blonde girl shouted harsh encouragement at them. I must admit that Romeo didn't look half bad with a light perspiration gleaming all over his face. I could help but follow a bead of sweat leave his brow, travel down the side of his face and down his neck. It was only when it disappeared from sight that I shook myself out of my daze and walked closer. I stood a little behind the blonde girl, hoping that I'll manage to catch his attention. Once I had, I tried to mime my message to him:

I pointed to myself and then lifted the posters up and down in my hand, as if I was putting them on a wall. I then pointed to him, and then my eyes and then at the posters in my hands. Finally I put my hand along my brow ridge and had a look around and then pointed at myself again.

Obviously, my message wasn't as clear as I hoped, as his face was covered with a look of confusion. I redid the mime slower and with more exaggerated movements. He still looked completely lost. A blonde girl cleared her throat next to me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"I'm sorry, am I in the way of your conversation with Ryu?" She said.

So, that's Romeo's name: Ryu.

"I just wanted to say something really quickly. I didn't want to interrupt." I said apologetically.

"But you have. So, spit it out." her voice was as harsh as the glare she was giving me.

I blushed in embarrassment; I haven't felt so awkward – or terrified in my life. "Okay, erm, Ryu. I'm just going to put these posters up and then sit by the Patch Café. You can join me whenever - no rush! So, I'll see you later." I said it as fast as possible, not wanting to hold the blonde up any further, and as soon as Ryu had acknowledged what I had said, I left.

Once I had the other two posters up, I bought myself a cup of tea, and waited for my potential team mates to come to me. With nothing to occupy my mind, my thoughts turned to how fragile my position in the tournament actually is. By the pure chance that I didn't make any friends along the way could mean I'm out. Sure, I now have Ryu, but he's already in a team.

Someone was approaching, a young looking person with green hair all dressed in white. I sat up straight, hoping to give the best first impression, but they just walked past without a second look at me.

My shoulders sagged again, I was still an hour away from when I said I'd be here, but I couldn't help but hope for someone to come early so I can finally confirm my spot in the next stage of the tournament. I chugged down the rest of my tea. Feeling the warmth spread through me was nice, but it'd take more tea to calm me down. I checked no one was coming, before darting in and ordering another tea as quickly as possible. I'd hate to miss my future team mate just because I fancied a cuppa.

I watch the whirlpool spin in my tea from where I stirred in my sugar. At least I now have Pierre on my team. He doesn't seem too enthused about it, though. That lazy bum would be over the moon if I couldn't find another team mate; he'd be gone as soon as the sign ups close.

Another shaman walks towards my table. She had orange hair, pulled out of her face with red clips, and her nose buried in a book, but it didn't stop her from making bee-line for me. About a foot away from me, she stopped and looked down at her watch. I opened my mouth to greet her, but she made an about turn and ran away from me. I'm not that unapproachable, am I?

I gulped down my tea, and went up for another cup. I distracted my nerves by thinking about what I have learnt from the tournament. Before joining the fight I never knew there were so many shamanic styles. Sure, they all have the basics of a spirit joining into a medium, but beyond that the possibilities are endless. I didn't realise that people would get into the fighting so much themselves, rather than projecting physical forms like my mother's family has done for centuries. I wonder what I can learn from my next team mate.

I start to drink my tea, and as I do so, I see someone familiar walking towards me. This is going to be the one, I can feel it! He has medium-long blonde hair, pulled in a side fringe, and is wearing tracksuit bottoms and a black t-shirt with "ICE" written on it. I feel my heart catch in my throat, as he comes closer, and I try and hide the smile forming on my face. I put down the mug, and go to say "Hello" when I hear a voice that I definitely recognise from behind me, "Hey Pino, what took you so long?"

My heart sank once more. He was from yesterday; the voice from behind me was the big guy who told me about the teams. I go to take a swig of my tea, only to find my mug empty again. My head falls back in exasperation. Two disappointments in quick succession is the worst.

I buy my fourth drink from Thalim. Two more in quick succession and with each refill, my thoughts turned more and more negative. It was only an hour, and eight cups of tea, later that Ryu walked over, and my face lit up. "I'm so glad you could come, I really need a distraction right now!

Ryu smiled and took the seat opposite me; "It's my pleasure. Thirsty were you?"

I look down at the mugs piled shamefully in front of me, and try not to squirm in my seat. I know he's teasing, but the amount of tea I have just drunk is ridiculous – even for a Brit! "Tea usually calms me, but it hasn't been working that well." I mumbled.

"Would you like another?"

I look up, and expect a cheeky grin on his face, but instead he looked so genuine that my heart clenched. "I'd like that. Thank you."

I couldn't stop smiling at Ryu's back as he walked up to the counter. I have no idea what I did to deserve him as a friend. "I'll leave you two alone then." Eva said.

"Okay." I said absentmindedly as I watched Ryu's back muscles move as he reached for our drinks. It then dawned on me what she had just said and I looked up to Eva who had a small knowing smile on her face. "It's not like that! Honestly, Rome- _Ryu_ is a friend. That is all." I managed to catch myself before calling him Romeo again; I don't know why I had to come up with such a sickenly romantic nickname for him.

"Of course he is. I'll see you later." She smirked.

I waved as Eva vanished from thin air. I thanked Ryu for the tea, as he put it down in front of me.


	4. Chapter 4

The following hours weren't actually too bad, Ryu managed to keep the conversation light, and I found myself laughing more than I had for a while. After knowing so little about him yesterday, I was determined to know more about him today. "So, tell me about you family, then." I prompted.

He just shrugged his shoulders and looked off into the distance. "There isn't much to say, I rarely see them." He then looked back to me with a smile. "My gang is more of a family to me than my biological family."

"You were in a gang?" I was shocked; I didn't expect someone so selfless would be in a gang.

"Not just in one, I was the leader." He said.

"Wow, what was it like?" I breathed.

"None of us had anywhere we could really call a home, so we spent all our time wandering around Tokyo, looking for our Best Place. A place we could relax and feel welcome. We didn't make a lot of friends like that, and if anyone challenged us, we'd reply with violence. In fact I had a fight with Master Yoh and hated him for a while."

"You hated Yoh?" I was surprised, from what I have heard from Ryu before, I thought he worshiped him.

"Yeah, he sliced the front off my do."

I snorted. "How dare he?" Sarcasm dripped from my voice, as I tried not to full out laugh.

"My hair means a lot to me!" he said indignantly.

"I'm sorry, it is magnificent."

"Why, thank you!" he gave me a huge grin and winked at me. "One day Master Yoh saved my life, and once I knew about the Shaman Tournament, I knew he'd be the one who would lead this world to better itself, like he did me, and everyone would be able to find a place to call home. And what about you?" He asked. "What are your parents like?"

"Well, my mum's from England, and my dad is from Pakistan. It was from my mum's side which I got my shamanic skills, dad can't even sense when a ghost is standing on top of him. I get on with them well. My dad is a quiet man, but fiercely protective of me – you have no idea how hard it was to convince him to stay at home while I took part in this tournament."

My thoughts drifted to the times he's defended me. He does so most relentlessly when it's to do with my race. It's no secret in our family that he hates being brown, and he sees it has his fault that my skin is so dark too. I get the image which has been burnt into my brain of my dad crying in my mum's arms the time a bunch of girls told me to take a bath because I was always covered in dirt.

"You okay?" Ryu asked.

I wiped away a tear which had managed to slip past my defences. "Yeah, sorry, personal stuff. I don't want to sound rude, but I've only just met you, so I don't quite feel comfortable sharing yet."

"No worries, I'll go get us another round of tea." He got up and walked over to the counter.

I was grateful for him giving me a chance to compose myself. That memory always haunts me, and although racism is an unfortunate part of life, I can never get over how upset my dad looked that night. When Ryu came back he had a cheery smile on his face, and changed the subject to the eating contest he and his friends entered on the way to Patch Village.

It was when the sky began to fade that my hopes did too. We had been here for over five hours, and yet no one had approached us. There are only two more days until the deadline of team submissions. If I don't have a team, then I am out for good. I reached out for my tea. My hands were shaking so violently that I almost spilt it everywhere. A gentle hand covered mine, I looked at Ryu. "Don't worry, Grace, we'll get you that last team mate."

"But what if there is no one else? What then?" My voice was so small. I could feel the tears threatening to spill from my eyes again, so I focused on my tea.

"Don't think of that, I am certain that there is someone out there who is destined to be in your team."

Ryu sounded so optimistic, I was jealous. I wanted to be as sure as him that I will find another person to join my team. "I want to go home." I said.

At this, Ryu leant forward, his pompadour lightly bumping my head caused me to look back up at him, his eyes captured mine. "Let's just wait one more hour, okay? And if no one comes, we'll be back again tomorrow, first thing!"

I felt like that was pointless, but Ryu had been so kind to me, I couldn't just throw away his help. I nodded with a small smile, and he grinned back at me and leant against the back of his chair.

I didn't drink any tea in that last hour. I couldn't. I was certain I wouldn't be able to hold it down. Ryu managed to keep the conversation flowing by talking about more of his adventures he and his friends had on the way to the Patch Village. I was listening intently at the beginning - anything to take my mind off my situation – but as the story continued, negative thoughts began to creep in. Why was I still here? I should have just gone home ages ago. This is useless; I'm only delaying the inevitable. I could have been spending my time far more productively by drawing up a map to the Patch Village so my descendant in 500 years would be able to find it with ease. There is no chance that we were going to find anyone.

"I'm sorry, Ryu. I can't stay here any longer."

I stand up as Ryu looks at me sympathetically. "I'll meet you back here tomorrow, okay?"

I want to tell him to forget it – that there is no point to him wasting his time here with me when he could be training with his team. So, instead, I just nod.

"Anna won't let me off training in the morning, but I should be able to make it here around the same time as I did today."

I don't have the energy to think about tomorrow anymore. But I have to. I have gone through too many hardships to just give it up while there is still a little more time. "See you tomorrow." I say as I walk away from him.

"Grace Kapoor! Is there a Grace Kapoor here?"

My heart shot up so fast, and I spin on the spot. "Yes! That's me!"

A short girl with olive skin and a pixie cut stood between Ryu and me. Just by looking at her, I couldn't place her age. Height-wise I'd say she was around eleven, but her curves made me think she was a lot older. She wore black cargo trousers tucked into a pair of teal knee-high boots, and a teal vest top.

"I hear you need members! I want in! The name's Carmen Garcia Aguilera, and with me on your side, there's no way we're gonna lose!"

I huge grin broke out on my face. "Yes! I need to tell Pierre! I bet he was counting on me not finding a third member! But here you are! One second." I ran back to the counter. "Thalim, can you get hold of Pierre Beaumont and let him know we have a third member?"

"Of course. Congratulations." He said with a smile.

I was absolutely buzzing. "Thank you! Oh, and do we need all three of us to sign up?" I asked.

"No, you ju-"

I squealed when he said _no_ and interrupted him. "Wicked, tell Pierre that we've gone to sign up, and that we'll see him later." Thalim turned to his spirit to pass on the message. I just carried on talking. "You ready Carmen? And Ryu; thank you so much for being here for me again, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. Eva appreciates it too, she hates coming out."

"Eva?" He asked.

"That's the name of my guardian ghost."

"Come on, Grace!" Carmen was already off in the direction of the sign up desk.

"I gotta run, thanks again, Ryu." Carmen ran back and grabbed my hand and started pulling me away. "I'll see you soon!"

This is actually happening. I have a team, and we can now move on to the next stage.


	5. Chapter 5

The sign up table was at the end of the main street in the Patch Village, there was nothing special about it, and if it weren't for the patch official behind it and the arrow pointing towards it, I would have ran past it completely. Carmen picked up a pen and piece of paper "Names! Right, so there's me, Carmen, and then you, Grace, and was it Pierre you said the other guy was called?"

"Yeah!" I said, and Carmen scribbled down the names.

My mind began to haze at how fast this was coming along. Not even ten minutes ago, I was certain that I would be going home, and now I'm actually signing up a team. Once she had written down our names Carmen looked up at me and said, "Right, now we need a te-"

Carmen was cut short when the patch official leant forward. He had a mean looking face, and waist length curly hair, held out of his face by a red headband which had two feathers coming out of it. His hand moved ominously towards the paper which Carmen had been writing on. "Full names please." He said and a smile came across his face. If anything it made him slightly scarier.

Carmen didn't seem fazed at all. "Oh, okay, so it's Carmen Garcia Aguilera, and Kapoor was your last name wasn't it? And Pierre's...?"

"It's Beaumont." said a voice from behind us.

I would recognise that French lilt anywhere, and sure enough sir lazypants himself was walking up to us, his spirit, a large bloodhound, was following him. "I found us a team mate." I said gesturing over to Carmen who was scribbling down Pierre's surname.

"I can see." Is all he said.

I heard the pen being put down and Carmen turned and shook Pierre's hands in both of her own. "Great to meet you, Pierre! The name's Carmen."

Pierre yanked his hands out of her hold. "Just because I'm on you team, don't think I'm about to be your friend. Has Grace told you about our deal?" He asked.

Carmen's head then shot over to mine, her eyes narrowed. "Deal? When were you going to tell me about that?"

My eyes widened like a deer caught in the headlights. "I don't know; soon? It's just been such a whirlwind since I met you, I haven't had a chance to even think about it, let alone tell you. Besides, I don't think it'll be a huge issue; Pierre just wants us to do all the fighting."

Her face brightened again. "Fair enough, I doubt either of you will have to do much fighting with me on your team! Now, there isn't any other deal I should know about before I commit to this team, is there?" I shook my head, and Carmen turned back to the form. "Excellent, then next on the list is a Team Name, you guys got any ideas?"

Pierre just crossed his arms and leant against the wall. "I don't care, so long as it isn't stupid or vulgar."  
>I was wracking my brains as Carmen started to voice out ideas. "We could have something obvious, like Two Girls and a Boy, or The Brunettes!"<p>

"Did you not hear what I just said? I didn't want anything stupid, and those were the most stupid names I have ever heard. Why don't you use your brains?"

Carmen looked like she had just been slapped. "Just thinkin' out loud, your highness, it's not gon'na be good first time. You have to work at it. Not that you would know anything about that."

"I'll have you know I had to work hard every day of my life to get here."

"Well, you could have fooled me!"

I try to tune out their bickering for a while, how was I supposed to think whilst they're acting like a bunch of two year olds? What do we have in common? Well, from what I have seen so far: Nothing.

"At least I'm making suggestions, and not just moping about! But if you want it to be a bit deeper, we could do it about our locations, we have Grace from India, and you're from France, and I'm fro-"

My head shot up causing Carmen to stop mid sentence. "Excuse me?" Did she really say what I thought she did?

"I said we could do it about our locations, y'know, seeing as you're from India-" Carmen repeated.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. This happens all the time, but it doesn't stop it from getting tiring. "I'm not Indian, I'm from England. I'm as English as a cup of tea."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Carmen said.

She looked so apologetic, and I instantly back down. "It's okay; it's just annoying when I can trace my family back to the druids that I always get labelled by my Asian half. I'm not even half Indian - my dad's family is from Pakistan."

"How about something European?" Pierre suggested.

Carmen then sighed. "Let me guess, you think I'm from Spain? Try the other side of the Atlantic, I'm Venezuelan. I guess I can't get too mad though, after misidentifying Grace"

"Why don't we steer clear of locations, then?" I intervened before anyone else became accidentally insulted. "How about language? Is it Portuguese they speak in Venezuela?"

"Spanish." Carmen corrected.

"That still works, both Spanish and French developed from Latin, and there are a load of Latin words in English, thanks to the French, so we could think of a word and translate it into Latin, and be called that!"

Carmen's face lit up. "That sounds amazing!" Her face then fell. "But do any of us actually know Latin?"

I didn't know Latin. I can't believe I didn't even think of that. What else could we name ourselves? "I know Latin," Pierre said, "but not much, I have only been taking lessons for a year. But, if you two think of a name, I'll try and translate it for you."

"Sounds like a plan to me! Grace, what sort of name should we go for? I think something exciting, like 'champions', or 'explosions'!"

"Or we could try qualities we have like strength, or wisdom! Pierre, do you know any of them?"

"Not from the top of my head, and I'd rather use a word I'm certain of the translation, it'd be awful if we signed up with a spelling mistake." He confessed.

"That's true. We don't want to look like idiots." Carmen said. "Do you know mighty?"

"I don't know that word either."

I shook my head in amusement. "There are thousands of words; it'll take us ages to find the ones he knows if we just keep stabbing in the dark. What words do you know?"

After about 10 minutes of debating we decided to go with Constantia, which is Latin for courage, and filled out the rest of the forms.

"Not bad for our first meet up!" Carmen beamed.

I smiled back at her in agreement. Sure, we bickered a bit, but we managed to sort ourselves out in the end. Who knows what we could achieve once we pull our strengths together. Pierre just rolled his eyes and began to walk off. "Whatever," he said, "I'm going back to my room."

"Hang on a sec," I said, "why don't we all meet up again tomorrow, and train together?"

"I'm not fighting, so there's no need for me to train." Pierre said as he turned the corner, without giving me a chance to convince him otherwise.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I can't believe how rude some people can be. "Well, how about you, Carmen?" I said turning to her.

"I'd love to, but I have a lot of preparation to do for the fights. I'm running low on ammo, so I'll be stuck at a table for a while. But we should meet up for coffee sometime before we move on."

"Oh, okay then. I guess I'll see you around, then." I said, knowing that no one ever keeps _meet-up-for-coffee_ plans.

"Thanks for letting me join your team." Carmen said, as she shook my hand. "We're going to rock this fight!"

She walked off in the opposite direction to Pierre, and I was left alone. On the way back I took down the posters I had put up earlier, and began contemplating my new team mates. Carmen is definitely energetic, and almost innocent in a cocky way.

I could sum up Pierre in one word: Lazy. I can't believe he doesn't want to fight, how did he get so far without wanting to fight? Hopefully Carmen and I will be able to make up for him. I don't even know how strong she really is. She does seem sure about her skill, but what if she's just all talk? Without training together, we'll have no idea of each other strengths and weaknesses. Will we truly be able to pull together as a team?

Upon reaching my room, I shook my head of the negative thoughts. Even if Pierre does nothing, and Carmen is just all air, I'm more than strong enough to win for our team. I have to be, I thought as I put the posters in the bin.


	6. Chapter 6

I awoke in a cold sweat. My mind was racing. "Eva, emergency." I called into the air as I flew out of bed.

"What is it, Grace?" Her face was transfixed with worry as she flittered about me. "Was it a bad dream? Did you hurt yourself?"

"Worse." I said, I could feel my eyes welling up and I turned to face Eva. "I've completely forgotten to buy my parents souvenirs!"

I got dressed and pulled my hair into my standard ponytail. It was the day before we were due to fly to the Island of Tokyo. Mum would kill me if I returned with nothing, and Dad won't say anything, but I know he'd be upset that I didn't think to get them anything.

I sprinted down to the square, where most of the shops were to be found, pushing myself as fast as I could go. I wanted to get there before they closed.

I reached the first shop, only to fall onto my knees in exasperation. "Eva." I said meekly.

"Yes?"

I wasn't looking at her, but I know she had a grin on her face. I could feel it. "What time is it?" I asked.

"I'd say about 6:50, it was quarter to when we left."

"And, Eva." I continued.

"Yes?"

"What sort of shop do you expect to be open this early?"

Eva feigned innocence. "Well, this is a different culture from our own. I didn't know what time they would open."

"Is this revenge for the other day?" I asked.

"Why would I want revenge on someone who called me a lonely spinster, who could not take a joke?" Her smile was gone now.

I winced at every insult she repeated. "Yeah, that- that was too far, I'm sorry. I would try and explain if I had a reason other than mood swings. But I don't. I'm an idiot."

Eva's story is a sad one. Her father betrothed her to a local landowner, but she was in love with a local fisherman. When she found out she was pregnant by the fisherman, she went to him and begged him to marry her, as she had no idea what would happen to her if her father found her to be with a child out of wedlock. Instead of standing by her side, the fisherman ran out to sea. Her father was furious, so she ran to the beach where she cut out her own heart and threw it into the sea.

Eva softened immediately; she could never stay mad at anyone. "You are, but on the bright side, the café opens in 5 minutes and you'll be able to grab yourself a nice cup of tea."

"Ooh, that does sound ni-"

My sentence trailed off as a group of boys jogging along the opposite side of the square caught my eye. In the middle of them was Ryu, my gaze followed him, watching the way he moved as he jogged. His eyes were focused ahead of him. "Ah, it looks like it's your Romeo over there!" Eva teased.

"What!" I screeched. I was lucky that they had just left the square as I'd hate for him to have heard my undignified outburst. "He's not _my_ Romeo. Heck, his name isn't Romeo. It's Ryu, and I think we should call him Ryu seeing as Ryu is his name." I could feel my face darkening with every word I said. "And besides, he's not even mine yet."

My eyes bulged at the realisation of what I just said; _yet_. What on Earth possessed me to say that? I buried my face into my hoodie as Eva fell into hysterics. "You know what, you can go home! I'll wait by myself for the café to open." I sulked, looking everywhere, but at her.

"Oh, don't be like that, Grace. It was only a bit of fun."

I didn't know how to respond, so I just grumbled into my hoodie before saying. "Fine, you can stay. But only because I get bored on my own."

We settled down on the floor while discussing what to get my parents.

It's official; I hate my parents. Why are they so hard to buy for? I had been browsing for around two hours now. Eva when home a while ago when the shops became more crowded, I think she also got annoyed my habit of going back into shops I had already visited. It was the third time that I walked into the woodcarvers that I saw it; a small decorative wooden knife was on the top shelf by the door. Made from mahogany; it had a warm richness to it. The blade was a straight with a double edge, but the hilt had been intricately carved to look like a crow. Polished black stone was set into the eyes. It was perfect, my mum loved crows. Our house is full of paintings and bric-a-brac of them – we even have images of crows on our cushions. Unfortunately, even when standing on my toes I couldn't quite reach it. "Need a hand?" I heard a voice say.

I looked over and Ryu had just walked in. My face blushed as I remember the conversation I had with Eva earlier, and I busy myself with trying to stretch for the knife. "You can try, but if I'm not sure if it'd help." I said.

He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

When I was sure that my blushing was under control, I looked over to him and said, "I'm taller than you."

He stood close next to me and began putting his hand on his head, then on mine and back to his. "This can't be right. We should stand back-to-back and measure." He said.

"That's not fair! Your pompadour easily adds two inches on you. If you think you can get it down, then do so, if not, we're going to have to come up with another plan."

As per my prediction, he couldn't quite reach it. But it doesn't prove that I'm taller than him, he insisted.

We discussed at length what we could do. Our ideas ranged from using our oversouls to get it down (thwarted by a sign reading: "No oversouls within the shop. Rule breakers will be fined!"); to using Ryu's pompadour to know it down (I loved that idea, but for some reason Ryu wasn't that enamoured by it); or just asking the guy who ran the shop (how dull that would be?).

"I could pick you up and then you could grab it." Ryu finally suggested.

I feel my cheeks heat up at the thought. Seriously, what is wrong with me today? I try to find a fault in the plan, but I can't. I also can't see us coming up with any better plans any time soon, and I still need to find something for my dad. "Okay then," I said, "so how are we going to do this?"

There were a few moments of grunting and groaning, as we position ourselves in the best way possible in the narrow aisle – the Patch like to fit in as much as possible. It ended up with him wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me. As I felt his arms tense around me, my heart fluttered. Blast my soft spot for muscles! I had a moment of sheer joy that chance would have me born a female – otherwise it would have been pretty obvious how I enjoyed the feel of his muscles against me. I grabbed the knife and he put me down. _Mother, I hope you appreciate this_. I don't think my face cooled down until we had been into two more shops.

We had a hilarious day, though. I walked back into my room with a huge smile on my face, and with far more bags than I had originally planned. "Looks like someone had a nice date." Eva teased.

"No and yes." I replied. "No - it wasn't a date. Yes - I had a nice time."

"Of course, it wasn't a date." She smirked.

I rolled my eyes as I began to wrap up the souvenirs, no use in arguing with her once she gets an idea into her head.


	7. Chapter 7

The flight from Patch Village to the island of Tokyo was dull, awkward, and seemed to last a lifetime. It was only the second time that our team had come together, and I had no idea what to say to either of them. Though Pierre and Carmen knew exactly what they wanted to say to each other - and it wasn't nice. From the moment we got on the plane, they were at each other's throats. I attempted to create a truce between them – there's no way we can work in a team if they can't say a sentence without insulting each other – but they just snapped at me, so I left them to it. The only reason they stopped is because Carmen suffers from terrible travel sickness, and as soon as the plane took off, she ran and locked herself into the bathroom. I tried to distract myself from the sound of her heaving by talking to Pierre, but he just turned to his book, and Eva was hiding in the sight of company.

I ended up just closing my eyes, and letting my mind wonder. Irritatingly, my first thought was about Ryu – a fact that I cannot share seeing as Eva would never let me hear the end of it. Ryu's ridiculous, weird, larger than life, and he's amazing. These past few days have been a whirlwind, I cannot remember smiling so much in a long time. At first I thought he was only helping me because he saw me as a "damsel in distress" and maybe he did, but I can see now that he really does care. The things he says, the way he goes out of his way to help me and remembers the little things I say is really touching.

I couldn't wait to arrive. Being cooped up in here was lonely, and looking out of the window at the clouds only intensified the sense of solitude. I found myself wishing I could see him more and more. I was getting annoyed at myself. I didn't want this turning into a crush. There would be no way I could act on it, seeing as we live pretty much the opposite side of the world from one another. The logistics would just be too much. I could deal with being just friends.

After thirty minutes, Carmen finally came out of the bathroom and curled up in her seat; falling asleep almost instantly. With only the purr of the engine and the rustle of Pierre's book for company, I soon followed her.

The air smelt warm as the stepped out of the air conditioned over soul. All around us aeroplanes, helicopters, gliders, and even a rocket dematerialised as the Patch Officials ran out of furyoku. I was about to ask if we should have a team meeting or training session, but Carmen shot off in the direction of the nearest toilet. I asked Pierre, but he simply said, "Not fighting," and walked off. My shoulders sagged. Hopefully once we have won our first fight, we'll start acting like more of a team.

I looked down at my Oracle Bell to see the room I had been assigned, when I heard my name being called from behind me. I turned to see Ryu waving at me. I couldn't stop the grin that grew on my face as I walked over to him. "We're having a meal tonight," Ryu said, indicating to his friends who were standing behind him, "and we were wondering if you would like to join us?"

I didn't know that my grin could grow any larger. "Sure, I'll come, I want to freshen up first, when will it be?"

Ryu gave me the details and I rushed to find my room and get ready.

I was practically bouncing around my room while getting ready. Eva was just sitting at the end of the bed watching me flitter around. "So, going for a meal with Ryu, eh?" Her voice was heavy with suggestion.

"And his friends!" I called from the bathroom, I then poked my head out and shook my hairbrush at her, "And I don't like that tone of voice, Missy. We're just friends and nothing more."

"Of course you are." She said dismissively.

I walked out of the bathroom holding my hair as if it was a pontytail. "Whatever. Should I wear my hair up," with my spare hand I gestured to my hair, "or down?" I then let go of it to show her what it looks like down.

"Definitely down," Eva said, "that how you used to wear it when going on dates."

If she weren't already dead, I'd kill her. "Up it is then."

I stormed back into the bathroom, ignoring Eva's cackles.

I stood outside the address Ryu had given me. I could hear the joy coming from through the door and I suddenly felt full of nerves. Will his friend's like me? Will they even acknowledge me? Apart from Ryu, all the other shamans I have met seem to be in a rush to be on their own. I knock on the door, quietly at first, but when no one replied I knocked a little harder. The door swung open to reveal Ryu in a navy wrap shirt, with matching trousers and a white apron. Around his head, and beneath his pompadour, he wore a white piece of cloth tied at the side.

"Come in, come in!" he said as he ushered me in through the door and to a room where a large group of people were sitting. "Everyone, this is Grace. Grace, this is everyone!"

They all greeted me in their own ways, and I did my best to smile and waved back at all of them. I was directed to a seat next to a boy with a large afro and a huge grin and opposite a man with blond hair and dark circles under his eyes. "I'll be back in a moment," Ryu said, "I just need to finish bringing in the food I made."

I looked at the spread on the table, there was so much, and it looked so delicious. Did Ryu make this all himself? "Hey there," said the guy to my left, "it's nice to finally _meat_ you."

He then picked up a chicken wing and held it in front of him. A few people within ear shot groaned. I rolled my eyes. A life time with my mum has taught me how to deal with this. "Nice to meet you too," I said, "but have I been given this seat as some sort of _pun_-ishment?"

Chocolove laughed at my response, and we carried on exchanging puns until Ryu returned. "You know, you can help yourself." Ryu said.

"There's just so much, I don't know where to start." I confessed.

I was surprised that the table hadn't collapsed under the weight of all the food. There seemed to be food from all over the globe. "I didn't know what sort of things you liked," Ryu said, "so I made as wide a range of food as possible."

I was touched at his thoughtfulness; he didn't have to do that for me. I smiled and thanked him as I began to fill my bowl.

The night was amazing, the company unforgettable and the food breathtaking. I hadn't eaten that well in such a long time. It was about 11pm when Ryu walked me home, I insisted that he didn't need to, but he said, "Although I don't doubt your strength, you are just one, where there are many shamans willing to break the rules for an easy ride to the finals."

I could have easily countered the same, that when he walks back he is vulnerable to the same attacks he had just described, but I was happy that he wanted to spend more time with me. Besides, I wasn't ready for this night to end. If it weren't for my fight tomorrow, I'd still be at the meal, gorging myself until I burst.

"Thank you for inviting me." I said, as we reached my door.

"No problem at all."

Ryu looked over at me, and the streetlights made his dark eyes twinkle. "Will you be at my match tomorrow?" I asked.

"Of course," he said, "I'll bring the whole group along, and we'll all cheer for you."

I couldn't help but smile. "Thank you." I said again.

Though this time I didn't mean only for tonight, but for all the help and support he has given me since arriving in the Patch Village. I don't think I'd be here if it weren't for that. We said our goodbyes and I went to my room. Looking out of the window, I was able to catch a glimpse of him before he rounded the corner, and out of sight.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my clothing for the upcoming fight. At the touch of the silk kameez, my stomach flipped in excitement. Unlike the plain white cotton one I use to train, this one has history; lent to me by my grandmother, it witnessed the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 and therefore was no stranger to bloodshed. "Hey, Eva"

"Yes, Miss?"

"Do you… ugh, hang on." I had started putting the kameez on and it was hard to speak. Once my head was through the purple and gold fabric I continued "Do you think my grandmother would be proud of me if she knew what I was doing?"

"Of course she would." Eva said.

But there was no way either of us could be sure. The only time we have seen them was just before I left for the Shaman Fight in Tokyo. My father cut them out of his life when he left home at 16. My dad wanted to blend in with the English, whereas my grandparents didn't want to lose their Pakistani identity. That wasn't the only reason he left, but all of their other disputes stemmed from that.

I pulled out the purple cotton shalwar and began putting them on. "But she ran from the fighting, she moved to the UK. What if she'd be disgusted with what I was doing?" I stopped and sat on the bed, I hadn't even fully pulled the shalwar up my legs. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to now. If my grandmother didn't like fighting, maybe she'd disapprove of me wearing this whilst doing just that. Maybe I should have told her I was a shaman and what I was going to be doing, rather than leaving her with the enigmatic "travelling for a year".

"Don't forget, she had only just had your father, it is more than likely that she and your grandfather ran to protect him."

"Maybe I should have bought the clothing I normally wear while training with mum." I let my shalwar fall to my ankles and began playing with my hair. "She did seem a little upset that I wasn't going to dressed like Eleanor was when she was in the last fight."

Eva sat next to be on the bed. "Yes, but you are from two heritages. Just because your shamanic skills are inherited from your English side, doesn't mean you should disregard your Pakistani side – even if your father wanted to."

"But-"

I tried to counter Eva, but she wasn't having it. "Now isn't the time to doubt yourself, Grace, you need to be focused for the fight."

I finally pulled my shalwar all the way up and tied them around my waist, before straightening my kameez over them.

"You're right. I probably should have got all this soul searching out of the way when we were in the desserts for the past couple of months."

I quickly plaited my hair, grabbed the orange, gold and purple dupatta and wrapping it around my shoulders and headed out to the stadium for my first team match.


	8. Chapter 8

I was the first of my teammates to arrive. It was a small room, on one of the walls there was a floor length mirror with a row of five hooks to the left of it, to the right of it there were a set of double doors to the main arena. A wooden bench ran along the opposite wall with a basin in a small alcove at the end. The floor was cool and bare, made from the compacted ground. The walls were plastered in a white lime wash. I placed my bag on a hook, tied my dupatta at my waist, so it hung like a sash from my shoulder, and began stretching. Eva floated by the double doors and looked out of the windows. "There are quite a lot of seats out there; do you expect them to fill up?" She asked

"I hope so, then they can see us doing our thing and know not to mess with Eva and Grace!" I stood with my hands on my hips, in a heroic pose. "How long do we have until the match?" I asked as I sat on the floor and continued stretching.

"A quarter of an hour."

"Ooh, is that all, the walk here took longer than expected. I wonder where the others are." I stopped stretching and just sat on the floor. Would I be disqualified if my team mates don't appear? I tried so hard to recruit them, but would it all be for nothing.

"Carmen's probably running late. I think she's the sort of person who would sleep in for as long as possible." Eva said.

"Really? I always pegged her as a get-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn type person." I sighed and looked over to the door I hope to be seeing them come through. "But it's not her I'm worried about, it's Pierre. What if he can't be bothered to come?"

It seems like my doubt in Pierre was unnecessary, not even a minute later he walked in, talking rapidly in French to the bloodhound following at his heels. He was wearing the same outfit as all the other times I've seen him; a leather jacket, denim jeans, and a white top with a slogan across it. "Where's Carmen?" He snapped.

"Hello to you too, she's not here yet. Are you just going to be wearing that? It doesn't look very easy to fight in." I said.

"I'm not fighting, don't you remember our agreement?"

I rolled my eyes, as if he would ever let us forget. "Right, I just thought you might change your mind once you get here."

"No. I'm not going to fight, not anymore."

"Fair enough." I said, as I left him to whatever he wanted to do.

It was then that Carmen barged in. She was wearing the same teal and black outfit as the previous times I saw her, but this time she also had a pair of aviation goggles on her head and she wore a pair of black fingerless gloves. "Are you guys ready?!" I didn't even get a chance to respond before she was off again "I'm so excited, I've been up since four this morning, haven't I, Doña Coromoto?"

From behind Carmen, a female spirit appeared. Her dark hair was pulled into a chignon bun, underneath a black cowboy hat. She wore a loose, white, long sleeved, shirt - tucked into one of the prettiest skirts I had ever seen. The skirt was red, and flowed out from the top of her hips down to her mid calf, a thick border ran around the bottom of the skirt embroidered in black green and gold. At her hip she wore a leather holster with a gun on right hip, and a whip attached to the left. On her back was a shotgun with spare rounds secured to the strap.

"Yes, and you have had no idea how glad I am that you did. I have been itching to fight all day!" Doña Coromoto said; her voice was soft and gentle, not the sort of voice you would associate with violence.

"And now's the chance!" Carmen made a fist and shook it at the entrance to the arena. "I'm going to smash them!"

Doña Coromoto crossed her arms and smirked. "They won't know what hit them."

Pierre just scoffed at them. "Violence won't get you everywhere."

"I don't want to get everywhere. I just want to win the fight. You don't win fights by just standing there." Carmen said, turning on Pierre.

I tuned out their bickering and carried on stretching. If they're going to be like this every time we meet, I'm glad that we only meet up when it's necessary.

It was five minutes before we were due to go in that Eva spoke up. "Looks like it's really starting to fill up out there."

Carmen then turned from Pierre, with whom she was still squabbling with, and looked over to Eva. "Really?" She asked.

It was the first time I had ever seen fear in her eyes – she didn't even look this scared when we found out we'd be flying to the island. "You okay?" I asked in concern.

I didn't want my team mate fainting before the fight even started. "Yeah, I will be, just give me a moment." she said distractedly.

She then walked over to the sink, with Doña Coromoto in tow. Pierre sauntered over to me. "Looks like you're going to have to do all the fighting, seeing as Miss. Hot-Head seems to be suffering from stage fright."

I rolled my eyes. Do they really have to be so rude about each other? "Like she said; just give her a moment. I'm sure she'll come round."

"Alright, I was just saying!" Pierre put his hands up, as if he was innocent and went to sit on one of the benches.

He was right though. If Carmen suffered from stage freight, I'm going to have to carry the whole team. Though I doubt Carmen wanted that to be added to her mind. What happens if I am the only one able to fight? Would I be able to take on three other shamans at once? I started to think that I should have worn the clothing my mum wanted me to, I had been training in that for 4 years - since I was 13 - whereas I've only been wearing the shalwar kameez since I left to go to Tokyo. I didn't even know what one was before my grandmother gave me hers. There's no time to go back to my room and change now. Looking down at my clothing a sense of pride began to swell through me. Sure, I may be English, but I have Pakistani blood in me too, and it's about time I start embracing it. If I can't win a fight wearing this, then I don't deserve to have the Great Spirit, as the one who is to have it should be able to win no matter the situation. I took a deep breath. _I can do this_. I can win for our team.

Carmen then spun round. "Sorry about that, guys, I just had to centre myself for a moment."

She now had her massive grin back on her face, and the fear had completely disappeared from her eyes. I just laughed. I can't believe I psyched myself up ready to take on all the opponents, just for Carmen to be fine. "I'm glad you feel up to it," I said smiling, "I wouldn't want to take all the glory."

This time Carmen laughed. "You think I would let you have all the fun? No chance. I'll destroy the other team before you can even reach for your staff."

A buzzer went off, signalling it was time for us to enter the battlefield. "That's what you think."

We walk into the arena, the crowd fell silent, and then the chatter started back up again; first as a quiet mumble before swelling to the previous volume. I don't know what I expected, we were a bunch of nobodies, I doubt we have any supporters in the audience; they are probably only here to check out the competition.

I scan the crowd; there are a few people sitting on their own, or in groups of up to three, but most people are in large groups, the largest of the being all dressed in orange and sitting above the entrance where the other team enter the arena.

To their left, but only taking up the highest three rows, was a group full of all sorts of people, from a Christian priest and a pair of Buddhist monks, to a tight group of three girls and a lonely child and everything in between. Sat in the middle of this group was a kid no older than fourteen, his eyes trained on the opposing team as if ours wasn't important. We'll show him to underestimate us!

I look over my shoulder, above our entrance was a group all dressed in white, in the centre of them was a large metal container with a creepy face on it. It is when I turn to face forward that I saw him. He actually had good seats; front row, between Nyortai and our entrances, the perfect place to see the action. He's there with all the guys from last night. He catches my eye and begins to wave enthusiastically at me. I feel the blood rush to my face and I wave back.

"Ooh, she's pretty!"

I tore my eyes away from Ryu's, and saw the opposition walking towards us. In the centre was a tall woman, dressed in orange with a serene look upon her face. Carmen was right, she is pretty. To her right was a small bald old man, also dressed in orange. He had a serious and collected look on his face. To the right of the pretty woman, was a young girl, too young in my opinion to be in the fight, but if she has made it this far, she must be strong.

The closer we get, the stronger the jitters in my stomach become. Next to me, I could see Carmen getting more excited; she pulled her goggles from her head and over her eyes. On Carmen's other side, Pierre's face was blank. Gone was the aloft look of being above fighting, and replaced was a miserable face. He was probably thinking of all the other things he could be doing right now.

The commentator jumped into the middle of the arena, and everyone's eyes locked on him; "Welcome everyone, to the first day of fighting! If you weren't at this morning's fight, then you missed an awesome fight, you turds! I'm Radim, and I'm going to be the one entertaining you lot! Now, to my left we have Nyorai, from the Gandhara Group. Let's hear it for them!" The crowd actually got caught up in what Radim was saying and went crazy, cheering, screaming, and wooing. "And to my right, we have Constantia, separate from any of the larger groups. Let's hear it for them, now!" There was cheering once more.

My eyes flicked over to Ryu, where he was waving with his arms in the air. I couldn't help but smile. With him cheering me on, there is no way I'm losing this fight!

Once the cheering had quietened down, Radim continued. "Now for the moment you have all been waiting for: Nyorai vs. Constantia - _Fight!_"


	9. Chapter 9

Carmen was the first to move. She shot towards them like a bullet out of a gun; explosions went off all around the opposing team. The noise was deafening and the lights blinding. Carmen landed between Pierre and I with a grin on her face. "I'd like to see them all survive that."

I had to agree with her, I wasn't near it and I felt shaken up, I dread to think of the state I'd be in if I were in the centre of the explosion. There was silence as the dust cleared away. All three were still standing, I was impressed, but the dust would have to clear a bit more for me to see the state they were in. They hadn't launched a counterattack, so that was a promising sign.

I heard Carmen gasp from beside me; she wiped the grime from her goggles. "That cannot be! It should have at least done some damage!"

Pierre pulled her arm. "What is it? I cannot see!"

"They're fine, absolutely fine, no damage at all." Carmen's hands were balled up in tight fists. "That attack has _killed_ people, and there they are standing as if nothing had happened!"

An elderly voice spoke, "Contrary to what most people here think, violence isn't always the answer."

Well duh, but this is a fight, violence can't help but be involved. As if hearing my thoughts a little girl's voice piped up "Lady Sati taught us how to win without using violence, we shall win this fight with peace."

Carmen was truly shaking now, a creepy smile was on her face, and a manic glint was in her eyes. "I'll show them what happens when they mock me. _Los destruiré a todos*_!"

She shot off back over to them, her attacks flying left, right and centre. I wanted to join in, I felt so useless on the sidelines, but the way Carmen was rampaging, there is no way I could avoid being hit by a stray attack. "What a maniac. Why is she still fighting when she knows she can't win?" Said Pierre

I have just about had enough of that kid's attitude. "Shut it, Pierre, there has to be a weakness in their defences, we just have to find it!"

"No. Not we; you. I'm not going to fight, and I doubt Carmen can see much through her anger." He sat down and stretched out his legs.

He cannot be serious. "What is your problem? Why don't you fight?" I yelled.

"Fighting causes too much pain." He said, turning away from me.

"Well boohoo! So you get hurt now again, that is no reason to give up!"

"You know noth-"

A body collapsing between us stopped his sentence. It was Carmen, her spirit Doña Coromoto was floating over her, worry plastered all over her face. "I couldn't do anything. I just used up all my furyoku, and for what? Nothing, not even a scratch." Carmen's head was buried in her arms. "I'm a failure!"

She sounded so broken. My heart clenched at the grief in her voice. My anger at Pierre flamed up again, that coward! I focused my sight on my staff. It was a simple design; the main body was made from oak, worn down in places from centuries of use. The head consisted of multiple branches holding Eva's petrified heart in place. "Right, if you're not going to do anything, Pierre," my hand tightened on my staff and I took a calming breath, "then I shall!"

I walked forward, leaving Pierre to attempt to console Carmen. "Eva, ideas!" I barked.

"Well, Miss Garcia Agilera's attacks seemed to be focused on power and speed, but if we take it slower rather using brute force, we may be able to spot a weakness in their defences and focus on that." Eva said.

"At the moment, I can't think of anything better. Are you ready? _North Sea Fog._"

I closed my eyes, lifted the staff above my head and began rotating it over my head. A mist poured out of Eva's heart, the more I span the staff, the thicker the mist became and the more it spread out. This fog wasn't just for cover; I could sense everything the fog touched to the tiniest detail. I could feel Carmen on the ground behind me, with Pierre standing above her. I could even feel Doña Coromoto and Pierre's bloodhound, though as they were spirits, they felt less intense.

I spread my fog out further, feeling out for Sati and her Team Nyorai. Apart from a shiver going down my spine, I felt nothing, so I pushed the fog out even further. My fog then refused to go further backwards - I must have hit the barrier marking the edge of the battle field, I didn't realise I was so far back. Shouldn't be too many more rotations of my staff needed to engulf the other team, just a little further.

I flinched as I hit the back wall. How could I not feel the opposition, I put my staff back down by my side and the fog retreated back into the heart at the top. I opened my eyes. There was no doubt about it, they were still there. _Why couldn't I sense them?_ They've got to be there, the match wouldn't have started if they weren't actually there. This is getting ridiculous! Why aren't they attacking?

I slash my staff through the air in front of me, causing a wave to rush towards them. It hit all three of them dead on, but my wave just passes through them. Maybe if I try and catch them off guard, I'll be able to hit them. Once again I send a wave at them, once as it had passed through them, I pull my staff toward myself. Three thin but strong currents cut back through the wave, headed straight towards my three opponents. They move so fast, there's no way that Team Nyorai will be prepared for this!

My attack just blew through them. I can't touch them. Well, that was it. My of victory has gone, there is no way I can win this. My attacks did nothing to them. No matter how hard I tried, my attacks just breezed past them, not even stirring a hair. This is beyond embarrassing; Carmen was still lying on the floor and Pierre was doing nothing. This is not how I wanted to lose – not that I wanted to lose at all, but if I did I wanted it to be against someone who pushed me, and took me seriously. Not by some pacifists who stood there mocking me. Unmoving. Smug. How could I prove to the shamanic world how strong I was when my first fight with an audience was a joke?

Tears fell from my eyes, marking my silk kameez. That's when I decided that if I go out, I will go out with a bang. I took a steadying breath and adjusted my grip on my staff. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it Eva." I said.

"If only I were stronger." Eva's voice sounded as hopeless as I felt.

"You are strong enough, and you always will be strong enough. It just seems like we weren't meant to win." Tears were now freely flowing down my face. "Maybe again in 500 years, eh? But for now: Let's finish this."

* * *

><p>*Los destruiré a todosI will destroy them all<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

I felt a hand on my back. "Hey, you okay?" It was Ryu.

I was brought suddenly out of my thoughts. Slapping a huge grin across my face, I replied "Yeah. Sure I am. I will be"

"I was waiting by the door to your changing room. The others left ages ago." He said.

I looked around and the stands were empty. How long have I been out of it? "Oh, sorry, I lost track of the time, where's Eva?" I asked

"Well, she told me I should come get you, as you were ignoring her, and then she just left. Are you sure you're okay?"

He stood in front of me, consuming my vision. I just smiled gently and said, "Sure, I may have been slaughtered out there, but at least I get discount at all Patch stores!"

"Are you su—" He started, but I interrupted.

"I'm fine! Now let's go find Thalim, I really fancy a cuppa!"

I grabbed my discarded dupatta on the way out of the stadium – it must have come lose during the fight – and wrapped it around my shoulders. I was determined not to cry. What did I expect from a team like mine? I know nothing more than their names, and I have no idea where they disappeared off to.

I tightened my dupatta. I can't let Ryu see me cry again.

Nyorai's power was just so awesome though. How is anyone going to be able to stand up to them? It was laughable that I thought I stood a chance.

I don't know if I can hold it in any longer. I pull my dupatta over my head, like a hood, to shield my face from him.

Now my dreams have been crushed. No, not crushed. To be crushed they would have to have even mattered to the opposition. But they didn't care. They ignored our dreams, just like they ignored our attacks.

"You were really strong out there today." Ryu said, breaking the silence around us.

I looked up at Ryu, searching his face for any note of sarcasm or laughter. He cannot be serious. "But I couldn't even land one hit on them."

"But you didn't give up. You kept at it, and gave it all you could."

Tears were steadily falling down my cheeks now, and it took all my strength to not completely breakdown. I had already been shown to be physically weak in front of Ryu, no matter what he said, I refuse to be mentally weak in front of him too.

"Why don't we get our tea to go? We can drink it somewhere quieter." He suggested

"Okay."

The walk to the café was quiet; few words were spoken between us. As we drew close to it, I saw a sea of orange. I wanted to turn on my heel and get as far away as possible. I'm not ready to face them yet, if ever. But there was no other way to the café, so I walked a little closer to Ryu. He must have sensed my need for comfort, because he gently put his hand on my shoulder. In desperation of not looking at that now awful colour, my eyes focused on the one figure not wearing orange. They were on their knees in front of the woman I fought today. I heard a French lilt and stopped in my tracks. It was Pierre. How dare he betray us so soon after our fight? "Please, Lady Sati."

Great! And it sounded like he was begging to them. What could he possibly want from them? Sati looked to the old man who we also fought. He gave her a stern look, and she turned back to Pierre and said, "How do you know you won't abuse it?"

"Please, I just want to be able to fight without hurting people. I have to be able to protect my family, but after what happened on my journey here, I don't think I could ever harm anyone ever again. I just want to know a way where I can win without people getting hurt."

My heart froze. I've thought of him a being lazy or a coward, but never did I think there was a reason to him not wanting to fight. I wonder what happened to him on his way here. "Come with me," Sati said, "we can talk in private."

My eyes followed them as they walked away. My attention was drawn away by Ryu saying, "Seems everyone has a backstory"

I turned to him and he was smiling at me, I smiled back at him. "Yeah, it's just hard to remember that when people are rude to you"

"He was a brat, wasn't he?" Ryu agreed.

I smirked in agreement as we went off to buy our tea.

Ryu had that amazing ability which caused me to feel happy no matter the situation I was in. I had managed to go over two hours on the beach without me thinking about how my life goal had been dashed from me. But now it was back, and I had no idea what I was going to do, or how I was going to tell my mum. She had been training me all my life for this. She didn't even mind when I only managed to scrape 3 GCSE's, as grades don't matter when you have the Great Spirit on your side. I just feel so lost.

I leant my head on Ryu's shoulder. "You know, it is okay to feel sad." He said, putting his arm around me.

"I know, but you have been making it hard these past few hours."

He chuckled and squeezed my shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well, have you ever had any dreams, apart from the Shaman Fight?" I asked.

"Of course I have, I only found out about my shamanic powers within the past year."

I pulled away from him and stared him in the face. "'within the past year'?" I repeated.

"Yeah, they were awakened when Tokageroh possessed me, and tried to kill Master Yoh. We managed to work it out though. Tokageroh is even my spirit ally"

I just couldn't stop staring at him. "You made it this far within a year, imagine how strong you could have been if you had been training your whole life."

Ryu blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, you're amazing!" It was then my turn to blush. "So, erm… what was it you wanted to do before becoming a shaman?"

Ryu looked off to the horizon before answering. "Well I told you about searching for my Best Place with my gang, but more recently I had my heart set on going to America to become a sushi chef - I even went so far as to getting to the airport."

He looked so full of hope, the opposite to which I was feeling right now. "Lucky, all my life my only goal had been the Shaman Fight. Now that is over – I just don't know."

"Well, if you find yourself in Japan, you could always join my gang."

"I'll think about it." I said, and to be honest, right now it didn't seem like too bad an idea.

It was when we had been silent for about ten minutes I turned and thanked Ryu. His eyebrows shot up for a moment, but they quickly relaxed and a smile formed on his face. "Don't menti-."

"Please don't brush this off. I seriously don't know what I would have done without your support. I mean Eva would have done her best, but as much as I love her, she isn't a great at distracting me. So, thank you. And thank you for helping me find a team, and for giving me someone to turn to" I then lent forward and hugged him. "Thank you." I whispered one more time.

His arms came round and held me close. I felt myself tearing up again. It was only when I was sure I wasn't going to cry that I pulled away and looked at him. Ryu's eyes were gentle and full of concern, causing my heart to flutter. I just couldn't stop myself

Woah! What? Where did that come from? "Erm, sorry Ryu, I couldn't help myself" I faked a huge yawn. "Welp, better be getting off to bed, that fight took a lot out of me. Thank you for the tea and talk. Good luck with your match tomorrow, I'll be cheering you on!"

With that I spun on my heel and tried to escape as quickly as possible. I cannot believe I just kissed Ryu! What was I thinking? Well I wasn't thinking. My face feels so warm, I am definitely blushing. Why did I do that!?

Before I could get too far though a hand grabbed my wrist and spun me back. I felt his lips on mine again – warm and slightly chapped. We pulled apart and with a wink he said: "That kiss is all the luck I'll need"

I laughed. "That was actually quite smooth!"

"Hey! I'll have you know, I'm a very smooth guy." He insisted.

"Uh huh, sure you are." I laughed, but then my face turned serious. "But seriously, good luck for tomorrow, I have every faith that you'll win."

"Thank you, Grace. But how about one last kiss, for good luck?"

"I thought the last kiss was all the luck you need?" I asked innocently.

"Well, it wa-"

I cut him off with another kiss. Which turned into another and another. We eventually pulled apart and just gazed into each other's eyes with stupid grins on our faces. "Go on, Romeo. Spend the rest of your night with your team. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Grace."

"Good night, Ryu."

That night I cried. My body was full of opposing feelings, I couldn't hold it all in. Today left me feeling wonderful, yet distraught. I felt like I could run a marathon, but I had fallen into my bed, I was unable to move a muscle. My life's goal has slipped through my fingers. But, I'm sure with Ryu there to help me, I'll be able to move on and make a life for myself.

* * *

><p>Well that's the last of it. I hope you have enjoyed it, I know I have. I'd like to use this space to thank <strong>Tsukasa Li-JMS-02<strong> for being there for me to cry at when I was stuck, and for translating that little bit of Spanish from the previous chapter. Also to the two 'Guests' who left reviews, you are both amazing.

Finally I would like to say that this story is un-beta'd, so if you would like to beta this for me, just send me a PM and we can go on from there :)

Have a nice day!


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